Why Game Of Thrones’ Final Season Might Air Later Than We Thought

There are few shows as wildly popular as HBO's fantasy drama Game of Thrones. Every summer, an outstanding amount of folks tune in on Sundays to watch the adventures of Westeros, and this trend will likely only continue to grow as the show's final two seasons air. Seasons 7 and 8 will both be far shorter than their predecessors, much to the chagrin of the rabid fanbase. Season 7's premiere date was also pushed back a few months due to delays in production, and now it appears that we might have to wait even longer for Season 8. Buckle up fam, because the final season of Game might not arrive until 2019.

This news comes to us from EW, who had a chance to speak with HBO's programming president Casey Bloys. He revealed that showrunners and creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss are still working out the final season's narrative and script, which should delay the premiere for Season 8. He said:

They have to write the episodes and figure out the production schedule. We'll have a better sense of that once they get further into the writing.

It looks like all the disappointed Game of Thrones fans are going to have yet another bitter pill to swallow regarding Season 8. Because the final season may not even air in the expected year, let alone Game's typical summer schedule.

While this might be disheartening for the Game of Thrones community, the delays in production might contain a silver lining. Because David Benioff and Dan Weiss taking their time to craft the perfect narrative for Season 8 means that they truly care how the series finale functions. While final seasons of some shows can sometimes be lackluster, it appears that Benioff and Weiss have only continued their laser focus and passion for the series. Fans have been following Westeros' story for decades if they began reading the novels in the 90's, so the stakes are extremely high.

But while the fandom may have committed years to following Dany, Jon, Cersei, and the rest of our favorite characters, David Benioff and Dan Weiss have also been working tirelessly on HBO's acclaimed series. Casey Bloys actually expanded on the duo's work ethic on Game of Thrones, saying:

By the time the final season airs, Dan and David will have been at this for 12 years. Which is an amazing fact. They didn't go and do movies in between seasons, they didn't set anything else up, they put everything --- and are putting everything --- into this show. They came into HBO with an idea for a show with a beginning, middle, and end, and they want to see it through.

After reading that, how can you stay mad about Season 8's possible premiere date? Ok maybe you can, but only because you love Game of Thrones so much.

Game of Thrones will return for Season 7 on July 16, 2017. Be sure to check our summer premiere list to plan your next binge watch.